MCCOOK – Macyn Hartman had five hits and seven RBIs, including a home run and a double as the Cougars pounded out 29 hits in a 26-4 win over Luna Community College in Region IX Pod play Thursday in McCook.

                The Luna win was in the second game of the day. The first game saw Otero earn the 9-1 win over the Cougars.

                The Cougars will have two more games in the Region IX Pod tourney with contests against Lamar and Trinidad State, before wrapping up the Pod action on Saturday with contests against NJC and McCook.

                Hartman's big day put her name up in the record book for a game performance. Her seven RBIs are tied for second with seven others. The most RBIs in a game was by Jacqui Cappuccilli set in 2011 against Wyoming. Hartman's five hits is tied for third with seven other players. The most hits in a contest by a player were six by Cappuccilli in 2011 and Katelyn Groves in 2009.

                As a team, the 26 runs scored is tied for third in the record book along with the 2010, who scored 26 against McCook. The record is 29 runs set in 2011 against the University of Wyoming club team while second place is 28 runs set in 2016 against Southeast Community College.

                The second game offense saw the Cougars score in all four innings they batted in.  WNCC scored three in the first and two in the second to grab a 5-0 lead. It was the third inning that saw the Cougars open the game with 13 runs on 14 hits before plating eight runs in the fourth.

                Hartman led off the game with a solo home run in the bottom of the first to start the scoring. After that, Mackenzie Bakel single and scored on a Bella Coffman single. Erin Hanafin later scored on an Emma Schweitzer single for the 3-0 lead.

                WNCC added two more in the second as Coffman had a solo home run and Bakel scored on a Lexi Butterfield grounder.

                The 13 runs the Cougars scored in the third all started when Schweitzer led off the inning with a solo home run. After that, Blanchard hit a one-out double followed by Victoria Wharton single. Both came in to score on a Hartman single. The score ballooned to 10-0 when Bakel scored on a Butterfield single and 11-0 as Hanafin singled in Butterfield.

                The third inning continued as Schweitzer doubled to score Coffman and Hanafin and then Blanchard singles to score Schweitzer and Sianna Lewis for a 15-0 lead. Bree Henson then had a pinch-hit single and scored on a Hartman double followed by Butterfield doubling home Hartman for the 18-0 lead.

                The fourth inning saw WNCC score their eight runs all with two outs. Wharton started the scoring when she had a run-scoring single to score Hanafin. Hartman scored two more with a single and then Butterfield had her second double to score another run to make it 23-2. Bella Mumford then had a pinch-hit single to score Butterfield and Mumford scored on a 2-run Hanafin home run.

                WNCC had eight players with multi-hit games. Hartman was 5-for-5 with four runs scored, seven RBIs, a double, and home run. Schweitzer and Bakel each had four hits. Bakel had a double with four runs scored, while Schweitzer had a double and home run along with four RBIs and three runs scored.

                Butterfield. Hanafin, and Blanchard each had three hits. Butterfield had six RBIs with two runs scored, and two doubles. Hanafin had a home run with four runs scored and three RBIs, while Blanchard had a double with two RBIs and two runs scored.

                Coffman and Wharton each had two hits in the win. Coffman had a home run with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Wharton had two runs scored and a RBI.

                Katie McMillan picked up the win in the circle, going 4 1/3 innings in scattering four hits and giving up four runs while striking out one. Lexi Parker finished off the game in allowing one hit and striking out one in two-thirds of an inning.

                The first game saw WNCC manage just three hits and the only run they got was a solo home run by Hanafin in the second. Besides that hit, the only other hits came in the third on a Wharton single and then the fourth on a Bakel single.

Game 1

Otero                    103 23 – 9 10 0

WNCC                   010 00 – 1 3 3

LP – Lexi Butterfield.

HR – Erin Hanafin.

Game 2

Luna                      000 22 – 4 5 1

WNCC                   32(13) 8x – 26 29 0

WP – Katie McMillan.

2B – Macyn Hartman, Emma Schweitzer, Mackenzie Bakel, Bailey Blanchard, Lexi Butterfield 2.

HR – Macyn Hartman, Emma Schweitzer, Erin Hanafin, Bella Coffman.